It was lightly overcast, but otherwise it was a pleasant day for a drive in the country, a day to enjoy the spring rebirth. The "country," as we call it, consists of the leafy, affluent suburbs that spread westward from Waltham.

This stand of azaleas was so radiantly lit by the filtered sun, that we had to stop for photos. I’ve always found pink-magenta flowers hard to capture, the color never seeming quite right in the photos. But this is pretty close, I think.